Las Américas Beach, the epicenter of international combined events in track and field

The Antonio Domínguez Stadium in Playa de Las Américas was decked out to welcome the athletes competing in the 13th Arona International Combined Events Meeting -Tenerife in the decathlon and heptathlon events. This competition is part of the gold category of the World Athletics Combined Events Tour and turned the southern municipality into the epicenter of combined events on the international stage.

German athlete Malik Diakite, with 8,037 points in the decathlon, and French athlete Elisa Pineau, with 6,020 points in the heptathlon, claimed victory in a competition that took place over four days spread across Saturday and Sunday, in which the Tenerife Island Council, through its public company Ideco, collaborated with Hospiten on the organization.

The French athlete finished the first day in a modest sixth place with 3,560 points after posting times of 13.94 (100-meter hurdles), 1.72 meters (high jump), 14.19 meters (shot put), and 25.00 (200 meters). On Sunday, she exceeded expectations and claimed victory. Joining her on the podium as runner-up was Ireland’s Kate O’Connor, with 6,009 points, and in third place was Switzerland’s Lydia Boll, with 5,911 points.

“I’m really happy because, honestly, I didn’t expect to win this weekend,” Pineau said. “My first day was pretty weak, but today went well. I was just seven points shy of my personal best, so I’m satisfied.”

In the men’s division, there was a thrilling showdown between Jeff Tesselaar of the Netherlands and Malik Diakite of Germany, with the latter scoring 8,037 points to Tesselaar’s 8,035, claiming victory in the meet. It is worth noting that the Dutch athlete improved his personal best by 282 points, and Great Britain’s Lewis Church took third place with 7,742 points.

The 24-year-old winner said, “I’m really tired because it’s been two tough days, but it was worth it because I won and broke the 8,000-point barrier for the second time in my career. The next time I compete in Ratingen will be in late June.”

In the Under-20 decathlon, Belgium’s Dai Keita, with 7,397 points, was crowned champion, followed by Spain’s Diego Darias with 6,902 points. In the U-20 heptathlon, Zoe Gregory of Great Britain, with 4,963 points, was crowned champion, and Laura Oogue, with 4,690 points, took second place, both stepping onto the podium at the Antonio Domínguez Stadium in Playa de Las Américas.

It was a weekend of top-level track and field in Arona, where the town’s councilor for sports, Luis Sierra, and Ideco’s CEO, Manolo Gómez, presented the awards to the winners.

For this edition, the organizing committee has implemented a “Sustainability Plan” that includes several initiatives, with a focus on strategic areas such as sustainable mobility, providing athletes and coaches with accommodations near the competition venue that they could reach on foot, and encouraging the public to use public transportation.

Separate waste collection and sustainable live broadcasting—which ensures equitable and representative coverage of athletes of all genders during the live broadcast—complemented this sustainability campaign at the Arona-Tenerife International Combined Events Meeting.